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Volkswagen team principal Jost Capito happy with Ogier's win

Sebastien Ogier raced to a victory in Rally Sweden, much to the delight of Volkwagen team boss, Jost Capito. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

After Volkswagen driver Sebastien Ogier won the manufacturer its first rally with a victory in Rally Sweden, Volkswagon team principal Jost Capito talked about the win. His comments are below.

At the moment, I don’t really have words to express what we’re feeling. It’s just been the perfect weekend for us: like a dream. I’ve been really fortunate to experience some amazing times in my career and this is one of them, right up there with the very best. I remember when we won Le Mans with Porsche in 1994, when I won the Dakar with my father, the success we had in motorbikes too, winning Monte Carlo with Ford with the new car in 2006…

These are special moments in your life, which you are privileged to witness, and this is really one of them. I’m quite speechless, and it’s amazing to have experienced all these things in different areas. And now here I am with Volkswagen, talking about our first win. Honestly, I wasn’t prepared for this.

In fact, my dream was to sit with the guys here on the top step of the podium next year. We came here to learn and it’s only the second rally with the Polo. Normally on a rally you have ups and downs, and on this rally there were no downs…only ups. We all knew that Sebastien could do it, but the fact that he could do it so soon is a surprise, for sure. He was the person who really made the difference.

But I really want to point out that Jari-Matti did a fantastic job too. You need to remember that Jari-Matti hasn’t got anything like the same amount of time in the car as Seb has had and to achieve what he’s managed to do is pretty incredible. I’m so proud of both of them, and whatever happens I know we have the best driver lineup of everyone.

In the end it’s all about forming a team. I was lucky because I was handed over a fantastic team in May and then we were able to build on that and make it so strong. You know, everyone works for everyone else here: there is no ego, and such a good feeling that you have to experience to describe properly.

We’re certainly going to have a celebration tonight but there’s still a lot we need to learn. Seb is leading the drivers’ championship now, and of course if you’re leading, you’re in contention. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We still need to see how fast the car is on gravel. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be fast, and we’re certainly not afraid of the next events, but it’s just something that we need to see for ourselves.

The other thing that’s important to remember is that the two rallies we’ve had so far are quite gentle on the car. We’ll see when the rallies get tougher whether or not are cars are just as strong there. I hope they will be. But for tonight, let’s enjoy the moment. It’s such a special one. These are the moments you remember for the rest of your life.